Football is Mathematics
Previews
Trends
Top Trends
Livescore
Injured players
Team Comparison
Language
- PreviewsInsightBefore the roundFantasyOpinionMatch reportRound Overview
- LIVE predictions 46ALL predictions 3410TOP predictionsValues 92Favourites
- United Kingdom 233
- Top Europe 88
- All Europe 741
- America 199
- Africa 78
- Asia 182
UEFA Champions League 9
UEFA Europa League 18
UEFA Europa Conference League 18
Premier League 10
LaLiga 10
Bundesliga 9
Serie A 10
Ligue 1 9
Eredivisie 9
Liga Portugal 7MLS – The Zlatan Ibrahimovic effect
Baranov E / Shutterstock.comThe Los Angeles Galaxy went into last Saturday's first ever Los Angeles Derby without many of their key players. There was no Giovani Dos Santos nor was there Romain Alessandrini. New signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic wasn't even match fit.
Yet without the two star players, a 25% healthy Ibrahimovic was all the Galaxy needed to defeat their rivals Los Angeles FC.
Down 3-1 when Ibrahimovic was introduced to the fixture in the 71st minute, the Swedes' emphatic wonder goal from about 40-yards out brought the two teams level. It followed Chris Pontius' goal which the Galaxy tallied moments after the former Manchester United player joined the game. Ibrahimovic popped up in the first minute of stoppage-time to score the winner, although there were cries of offsides.
Ibrahimovic's impact in just over 20 minutes on the pitch showed just how much better he is than the rest of the league's forward talent. It also showed that Ibrahimovic, despite being 36, can bully and outclass MLS's defenders.
The Galaxy improved its attack greatly with Ibrahimovic's signing. The problem for the team is the lack of quality in midfield and defence. The Galaxy's defenders gave up three goals in the opening 45 minutes of the derby. LAFC moved through the Galaxy with ease during the first half. However, the Angels turned off for large parts of the second interval and allowed the Galaxy back into the game.
Galaxy manager Sigi Schmid's side looked slow and too often midfielders were receiving passes from defenders while facing their own goal. It was a slow build-up and it made the team extremely easy to defend against until Ibrahimovic came on and stretched the LAFC defence. Galaxy left-back Ashley Cole looked every bit his age. The 37-year-old may have been given the captain's armband, but he looked incredible slow and had difficulty defending against LAFC's younger, quicker attackers.
Schmid has little wiggle room to add quality to his side. The team has invested heavily in attack, and the defence seems to have been neglected. It was a terrible decision as the Galaxy gave up the second most goals (67) a season ago and finished dead last in the overall MLS points standings. The team did bring in goalkeeper David Bingham in the offseason, but even the best goalkeepers need quality defenders in front of them.
The Galaxy may have seven points from 12 after four matches, but Schmid has to sort his attacking tactics out along with improving his defence. Ibrahimovic's signing has already earned the Galaxy three points. However, Schmid cannot rely on the Swede to turn the tide of a game every week. The squad must learn to defend.
The Galaxy faced a big test against LAFC in the derby last weekend. Now the team must play the MLS Western Conference's top team in terms of points, Sporting KC. The Blues have secured 10 points from 15 and Sporting are undefeated in their last four fixtures. The Galaxy's defence - or lack thereof – should once again be a factor in the tie. Even with Ibrahimovic and playing at home, Sporting will pick up all three points until the Galaxy can learn to defend.
Major League Soccer
<>October 2026Football predictions{"9":"September 2026","10":"October 2026","11":"November 2026"}Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Western Conference
OVERALL TABLE OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/- 1Vancouver Whitecaps 51 28 15 6 7 31 2Saint Louis City 50 28 14 8 6 16 3FC Dallas 47 28 13 8 7 7 4San Jose Earthquakes 46 28 13 7 8 10 5Houston Dynamo 45 28 13 6 9 2 6Los Angeles FC 42 29 11 9 9 13 7Seattle Sounders 41 28 11 8 9 3 8Colorado Rapids 37 28 11 4 13 0 9Los Angeles Galaxy 36 29 9 9 11 -11 10Portland Timbers 33 28 9 6 13 -3 11San Diego 32 28 8 8 12 -3 12Real Salt Lake 32 28 9 5 14 -5 13Austin FC 31 28 7 10 11 -15 14Minnesota United 30 28 7 9 12 -9 15Sporting Kansas City 22 28 6 4 18 -33 Play-off 1/8-finalsPlay-off 1/16-finalsEastern Conference
OVERALL TABLE OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/- 1Nashville SC 63 28 19 6 3 37 2Inter Miami CF 49 28 13 10 5 18 3Chicago Fire 48 28 14 6 8 11 4Charlotte FC 46 28 13 7 8 10 5New England Revolution 46 28 14 4 10 6 6Philadelphia Union 42 28 12 6 10 11 7Orlando City SC 37 28 11 4 13 -15 8FC Cincinnati 36 27 9 9 9 -7 9New York Red Bulls 36 28 10 6 12 -14 10New York City FC 33 28 8 9 11 4 11Toronto FC 32 28 7 11 10 -11 12DC United 30 27 6 12 9 -12 13Columbus Crew 29 28 8 5 15 -5 14Atlanta United 27 28 7 6 15 -15 15Montreal Impact 24 28 6 6 16 -21 Play-off 1/8-finalsPlay-off 1/16-finalsPick of the day
8th14thMinnesota United have seen both teams score in each of their last 11 Major League Soccer matches.
Top trends
Lincoln CityUnbeaten 35 of 40In their 40 most recent matches of all competitions, Lincoln City have been undefeated 35 times
BATE BorisovWinless 3 of 20BATE Borisov are on a poor run of just 3 wins in 20 matches (Vysshaya Liga)
Saint Louis CityUndefeated 18Saint Louis City are on an unbeaten run of 18 games in their Major League Soccer participation
Bodo/GlimtOver 2.5 goals 13In 13 of their most recent matches in Champions League, Bodo/Glimt have seen over 2.5 goals scored
Al ShamiyaLost 8Al Shamiya have been defeated in their last 8 matches in 1st Division
Philadelphia UnionWon 7Philadelphia Union have won 7 consecutive games in Major League Soccer
ZenitClean sheets 7Zenit have succeeded in keeping a clean sheet in their most recent 7 Kubok games
Kasetsart FCScored None 5Kasetsart FC haven't scored a goal in all of their last 5 league matches
Markhiya SCWon by 2+ goals 4A margin of 2+ goals was achieved by Markhiya SC in their last 4 Q League games
Nomme Kalju IIHT/FT lost 4Nomme Kalju II have been defeated at HT/FT in their last 4 Esiliiga matches
ABOUT
Football is mathematics. Forebet is a free data and analytics platform for football and sports predictions. It utilizes mathematical algorithms and statistical models to process historical match data across more than 850 football leagues and other major sports competitions worldwide. Since 2009, Forebet has leveraged the power of mathematical algorithms and statistical models to transform raw data into actionable intelligence, match analytics, and data-driven sports predictions for fans worldwide. The platform is designed to support informed decision-making by presenting objective probabilities and structured football and sports statistics.PREDICTIONS
MORE
Copyright © 2009-2026 Forebet.com All rights reserved.
